Automatic fire-extinguishing sprinkler.



Io .'7 18,566. PATENTED JAN.13 ,.1903;.

L. COOPER.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHING SPRINKLER.

nrmomlon FILED SEPT. a, 1902. no mqnnn.

UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE."

WILLARD LEE COOPER, OF SPIGNERS STATION, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HERBERT W. CLARK, OF SPIGNERS STATION, ALABAMA.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHING SPRINKLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,566, dated January 13, 1903. Application filed September 8, 1902. Serial No. 122,486. (No model.)

T0 and whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD LEE COOPER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Spigners Station,in the county of Elmore and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire-Extinguishing Sprinklers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements i automatic'sprinklers for fire-extinguishing apparatus adapted for use in factories, warehouses, and other buildingsin connection with the water-supply thereof and acting under the influence of abnormal increase of temperature to distribute water in a spray in the surrounding space.

More specifically, my invention relates to that special class of automatic sprinklers wherein a valve normally closes a water outlet or orifice under tension of one or more arms acting to hold the valve on its seat, the said arms being secured together by means of a metal fusible at alow temperature and when disrupted by the melting of said metal releasing the valve and causing the water to issue from said orifice and to be thrown into the surrounding space.

The object of my invention is to produce a sprinkler of the above character which shall possess greater strength, durability, simplicity, and cheapness of construction and requirea smaller amount of labor in its manufacture than has hitherto been attainable with such devices.

In order to more fully describe the nature, objects, and advantages of my said invention, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents the sprinkler embodying my invention in side elevation; Fig. 2, a vertical section of the same, taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3, an end elevation of the said sprinkler, and Fig. 4 a section taken along the line 4 4 of. Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 illustrates the case in which the valve of the sprinkler consists of a hollow glass ball, representing said ball and a portion of the nozzle and retainingarms in central vertical section.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throu ghout the several views.

A represents a screw-threaded nozzle adapted to fit into the piping of the water-supply system. This nozzle is provided with an orifice a, through which the water is adapted to escape when the sprinkler is opened. The sprinkler is provided also with an upwardlyextending curved arm a, formed integral with the nozzle 0. and terminating at its upper end in a flattened plate portion a just beyond the axial line of the nozzle. On the opposite side of the nozzle from the arm a is an upwardly-extending curved arm a also formed integral with the nozzle and terminating at its upper end in a downwardly-extending lip a.

The orifice a is normally closed by a ballvalve B. This ball may be of vulcanized rubber, as indicated in the drawings, or it may be made of glass, either solid or hollow, or of any other suitable substance, as hereinafter described. This ball is normally held down securely on the valve-seat b by means of a dog O of peculiarconstruction. This dog is provided with an integral cup-shaped portion 0, which fits cap-like over the top of the ball B and holds it securely on its seat. The said dog is also provided with a lip c, which hooks into the downwardly-extending lip of the arm a while at its upper end the said dog terminates in the plate or flattened portion 0 similar to the portion a of the arm a.

When the ball is in position, the upper end 0 of the dog 0 isdra'wn into proximity with the plate a and the two are held together by means of a solder joint D. The area of each of these plates 0. and c is preferably five-eighths by three-fourths of an inch, and passing through each of the plates are eight holes a c,'respectively countersunk from the outside.

When the solder is poured into the joint between the plates 0. and 0 it flows through the holes and forms a series of solder rivets, preventing the joint from coming loose in case of corrosion between the metal of the plates and the solder, as is the 'case with many automatic sprinklers designed to operate upon this principle. The solder of which this joint is formed is fusible at a comparatively low temperature, but at a temperature which is abnormal for the surroundings in which the sprinkler is placed. This arrangement of the solder joint allows the sprinkler, or, more exactly, the portions of said sprinkler which are soldered together, to be made of brass, phosphor-bronze, nickel-plated malleable iron, or other metals which are not easily joined by a solder joint.

In order to secure the absolute non-corrosiveness of the sprinkler, I provide asbestos or magnesium fiber packing I) both over and under the ball-valve, where it would otherwise engage the metal portions of the sprinkler, and also between the lip c and the hooked portion a of the arm a as at b Directly in line with the longitudinal axis of the orifice of the nozzle I provide a distributer E, comprising a plurality of concave arms 6, each provided with two or more holes 6 This distributer is secured to the arm a in any suitable manner, as by means of the screw 6'.

F represents a small piece of highly-in flammable and non-perishable material, such as sulfur, celluloid, or saltpeter, which is firmly fixed in a recess just beneath the solder joint and over the distributer, as shown. This highly-inflammablesubstance will ignite readily and aid in melting the solder. The ball-valve being held down upon its seat under tension by the dog 0 will be readily and positively relieved when the solder-joint which holds the said dog in tension becomes disrupted by abnormally high temperature. The pressure of the water will when the dog has been released blow the said ball and dog out of the course of the stream, which will then come in direct contact with the spreader, when the water will be discharged in an umbrella-shaped shower into the adjoining space.

From the construction thus described it will be seen that there is no direct pressure from the water on the solder joint, and, further, that the valve does not open with a sliding motion, which will allow the water to partially escape and stick the solder joint by cooling it, as often occurs in practice with antomatic sprinklers. Moreover, it will be seen that the valve is explosive without the use of the ordinary tension plates or springs often employed in devices of this kind. The dog being pressed in and down over the disk and up against the solder joint produces the explosion when the solder rivets are weakened by heat within several degrees of the meltingpoint of the solder. Moreover, the solder joint is very much exposed, and, as stated above, is out of the way of being cooled by the possible dripping of water upon the partial opening of the valve.

This sprinkler can, furthermore, be used in either the upright or pendent position or at any angle, and as it has but two portions which become separated from the main body of the sprinkler upon being operated-viz., the dog 0 and the ball-valvethese parts may be readily replaced, and the sprinkler thus becomes readily adapted for use a second time or a large number of times.

The fact that the sprinkler herein described is composed of so few pieces, all of which may be readily cast, renders it exceedingly simple and cheap as to cost of construction. The further fact that the nozzle possesses an unusually large orifice greatly increases the capacity of the sprinkler and diminishes the number of sprinklers which would otherwise be necessary. While this is true, the orifice is not large enough to cause the feed-pipe to be entirely emptied, thus remaining within the rules prescribed by tariff associations.

While I have shown a ball as consisting of vulcanite or hard rubber, this ball may be of any suitable material. I may use a hollow glass ballsuch as the ball B, Fig. 5-which will possess suliicient brittleness to burst if the solder should fail to act, and thus allow the dog to become displaced and the jet of water to issue from the nozzle. This use of the hollow glass ball makes the sprinkler surer in its action.

Having thus described my said invention, it is obvious that the same is capable of any modifications which may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention; but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination with a nozzle, of a valve located at one end of said nozzle, retaining-arms extending from said nozzle and formed integral therewith, a. single retaining member adapted to seat the said valve under tension, one of said retainingarms forming a resistance for holding said member in position, and a joint separable by abnormal rise in temperature connecting said retaining member to the other of said arms.

2. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination witha nozzle, of a ball-valve located at one end of said nozzle, fixed retaining-arms extending from said nozzle, a single retaining member having a cup-shaped-portion adapted to fit over the said ball-valve and to seat the same under tension, one of said retaining-arms forming a resistance for holding said member in position, and a joint separable by abnormal rise in temperature connecting said retaining member to the other of said arms.

3. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the'combination witha nozzle, of a valve located at one end of said nozzle, a dog adapted to engage the valve and seat the same under tension, a member comprising a part of said nozzle and engaging said dog and forming the resistance by which the valve is held under tension, a second member comprising a part of said nozzle, and a joint separable by abnormal rise in temperature, connecting the said dog and the lastnamed member.

4. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination with a nozzle, of a ball-valve located at one end of said nozzle, a dog adapted to engage the ball and seat the same under tension, an arm integral with said nozzle engaging said dog and forming the resistance by which the said ball is held under tension, a second arm integral with said nozzle and extending to a point in front of the same, and a joint of low-fusing metal connecting the said dog with the lastnamed arm and holding the dog in engagement with the said ball under tension.

5. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination with a nozzle, of a valve-located at one end of said nozzle, a single retaining member adapted to seat the said valve under tension, a joint separable by abnormal rise in temperature holding said retaining member in its normal position, and a spreader located in front of said valve, in axial alinement With the orifice of said nozzle and comprising a plurality of concave arms, each provided with one or more per forations.

6. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination with a nozzle, of a valve located at one end of said nozzle, a dog adapted to engage the valve and seat the same under tension, a member. comprising apart of said nozzle and engaging said dog and forming the resistance by which the valve is held under tension, a second member comprising a part of said nozzle, a joint separable by abnormal rise in temperature, connecting the said dog and the last-named member, and a highly-inflammable substance located in proximity to said joint.

7. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination with a nozzle, of a Valve located at one end of said nozzle, a dog adapted to engage the valve and seat the same under tension, 2. member comprising a part of said nozzle and engaging said dog and forming the resistance by which the valve is held under tension, a second member comprisinga part of said nozzle, a joint separable by abnormal rise in temperature, connecting the said dog and the last-named member, and non-corrosive packing inserted between the valve and its seat, between the valve and the dog and between the dog and the member forming the resistance for said dog.

8. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination with a nozzle, of a valve located at one end of said nozzle, a dog terminating at one end in a flattened surface provided with a plurality of tapering holes, said dog adapted to engage the said valve and seat the same under tension, an arm integral with said nozzle engaging said dog and forming the resistance by which the said valve is held under tension, a second arm integral With said nozzle and terminating at one end in a flattened surface provided with a plurality of tapering holes, a joint of lowfusing metal connecting the said dog with the last-named arm and holding the dog in engagement with the said loall under tension, the metal of said joint being spread over the flattened surfaces of said dog and arm and passing through the tapering holes in the form of countersunk rivets.

9. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishing systems, the combination with a nozzle, of a ball-valve located at one end of said nozzle, a dog provided with an integral cupshaped portion adapted to engage theball and seat the same under tension, the said dog terminating at oneend in an upturned lip, an arm integral with said nozzle engaging the lip of said dog and forming the resistance by which the said ball is held under tension, a second arm integral with said nozzle, a joint of low-fusing metal connecting the said dog with the last-named arm and holding the dog in engagement with the ball under tension.

10. In a sprinkler for automatic fire-extinguishingsystems, the combination with anozzle, of a valve comprising a hollow glass ball located at one end of said nozzle, a single re tainin g member adapted to seat the said valve under tension, and a joint separable by abnormal rise in temperature holding said retaining member in its normal position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLARD COOPER.

Witnesses:

P. N. BOOKER, E. M. COVVLING. 

